The Daily RotationPutting A New Spin On Media2015-03-30T22:59:07Zhttp://www.thedailyrotation.com/feed/atom/WordPressBrett Kosterhttp://www.thedailyrotation.com/?p=291422015-03-30T22:59:07Z2015-03-28T18:45:17ZThis weekend’s Queue features a movie that is not like many others, it is refreshingly unique and surprisingly thrilling. Queued up for this weekend is Aleandre Aja’s Horns. Horns follows the story of Ig Perrish, Daniel Radcliffe, who is accused of killing his fiancé and is then acquitted for his crimes. The town he lives in despises him and wants [&hellip

This weekend’s Queue features a movie that is not like many others, it is refreshingly unique and surprisingly thrilling. Queued up for this weekend is Aleandre Aja’s Horns.

Horns follows the story of Ig Perrish, Daniel Radcliffe, who is accused of killing his fiancé and is then acquitted for his crimes. The town he lives in despises him and wants to see him pay for his crimes. Quickly the movie gets strange when Ig grows a set of horns. Going further into the strange, these horns convince people to confess their sins to him and follow any command he gives. This and many other oddities appear along the journey to find the killer of Ig’s fiancé.

There are two shining reasons why you should see Horns this weekend.

First, Daniel Radcliffe has an amazing performance in this movie. His acting makes you completely forget the other roles he has played, all you see is Ig Perrish. That is how acting should be done, and shouldn’t really be a highlight but given Daniel’s acting resume, this task will be very difficult for him. Ig is in such a weird circumstance, his character is so emotionally deep and Daniel Radcliffe does such an excellent job bringing all that to life.

The second shining reason to see Horns is the unique story. The plot behind this movie is unlike any I have seen before. This movie is refreshingly different; it is suspenseful, entertaining, and satisfying. Beware though, there are a lot of strange circumstances (can I say that enough about this movie?) and you will get no explanation for them. For example if you need to know why Ig Perrish grows horns, you will not be satisfied. I normally fall into that category, I like order and reasoning, and I loved this movie.

This movie is so obviously different than anything else I have ever seen and boy was it refreshing. I highly recommend checking out Horns and this weekend if you have time!

]]>0Jeremy Lebenshttp://twitter.com/#!/MinimeJer05http://www.thedailyrotation.com/?p=291412015-03-27T23:39:39Z2015-03-27T23:39:39ZJeremy revisits the possibilities of Snapchat ever releasing an app for the Windows Phone platform, which are very little and slim

Is Snapchat ever coming to Windows Phone? It’s a simple question that nobody seems to be answering for us die-hard Windows Phone supporters that also enjoy using Snapchat.

Awhile back I wrote an article asking that very same question, only it went unanswered. Well, sort of.

See, Windows Phone developer Rudy Huyn (among others) released an unofficial third party app titled 6snap and it went on to surpassing the official Snapchat app in terms of features and updates. Huyn went on to provide great support to the app, until Snapchat suffered a hack and forced a pull of all third party apps. They even went as far as banning accounts that were accessing Snapchat through means other than their official iOS and Android apps.

That’s just plain wrong and a complete joke for those Windows Phone supporters that simply want access to the app on their mobile devices.

Since then, things have been cold on the Snapchat for Windows Phone front. Heck, Snapchat went ahead and took down the “release your app for my unsupported phone” page, maybe due to house cleaning, but most likely due to an over abundance of angry Windows Phone users voicing their opinions.

Folks at Microsoft stopped discussion of a possible coming soon app or even the usual “we’re talking and working with them on it” and have instead shifted focus on their upcoming Windows 10 for phones OS, which is said to bring universal apps across the entire Windows ecosystem.

That’s great and all, but not so much if there’s not a Snapchat app available on Windows desktops or tablets. Which basically means that for some unknown reason, Microsoft can’t get Snapchat to play ball with them, which makes little to NO sense, especially when considering in the fact that Microsoft and Facebook had a similar relationship, which ended in Microsoft developing, releasing and updating the official Facebook app in house, which I’m sure they offered to do for Snapchat.

But Snapchat continues to avoid the third place phone OS, despite its slowly growing market share.

Look, I get it — I really do. I know that Windows Phone has a very long way to go before ever being considered a serious threat to Apple and Android, but that doesn’t mean that you should shut out its active users that simply want to SUPPORT and HELP your app grow to the masses. Especially when Microsoft and MANY independent developers would love to help bring Snapchat to Windows Phone with little to no help/work/time needed from Snapchat and their guys and gals that are probably working around the clock to make sure the app runs as smooth as can be on iPhone and Android devices around the world.

The cold and harsh reality is that Snapchat doesn’t want anything to do with Windows Phone at the moment or in the near future. I even received a tweet mention that showed me proof that Snapchat publicly tweeted those very same words, with little to no remorse towards the users that they are leaving in the dust for no reason at all.

So there you have it. No Snapchat for Windows Phone in the near future, for no apparent reason. It’s sad seeing such a giant company and spreading app not be supported or even allowed on an operating system that is trying its hardest to be a real number three competitor and simply wants to help apps grow and expand across ALL platforms.

Any avid Windows Phone users out there that care to chime in on this touchy subject? Should Microsoft offer Snapchat some sort of financial help in return for an app or should Snapchat stop acting like a group of babies and just release an app or maybe even allow a developer to release one with their stamp of approval?

]]>3Jeremy Lebenshttp://twitter.com/#!/MinimeJer05http://www.thedailyrotation.com/?p=291392015-03-27T21:50:12Z2015-03-27T21:50:12ZFear The Walking Dead is the official title of The Walking Dead spinoff, which is set to land this summer and stars Cliff Curtis and Emily Dickens

I recently finished up watching the entire Breaking Bad series, while also catching up on the latest and greatest from Better Call Saul and The Last Man on Earth. I thought I was all caught up on T.V. gossip, especially knowing that I was only one season behind on The Walking Dead.

I swear I’ll watch it…once it comes to Netflix.

Anyways, a spinoff series has been cooking over at AMC, with two seasons confirmed: one for this summer (6 episodes) and a longer one for sometime next year.

Today, we’ve got a first-look at the series (see above) and a title, which is Fear The Walking Dead.

I like it. It’s simple and to the point and should help separate itself from The Walking Dead, while also obviously displaying its connections to the show. It’s suppose to follow new characters and new stories, outlining what happened before the virus breakout and maybe some day leading up to The Walking Dead.

Cliff Curtis and Kim Dickens star and I absolutely cannot wait to check this show out, after finishing up The Walking Dead of course.

]]>0Jeremy Lebenshttp://twitter.com/#!/MinimeJer05http://www.thedailyrotation.com/?p=291372015-03-27T21:40:36Z2015-03-27T21:40:36ZRyan Reynolds reveals the costume for his upcoming Deadpool film in stunning beauty

Ryan Reynolds has been championing a live-action Deadpool movie over at Fox ever since X-Men Origins: Wolverine butchered the character so horribly years ago.

Yet here we are, just a year away from the actual film, which will have Reynolds finally play the infamous “Merc with a Mouth”.

Today, we’ve got an exclusive first-look at the costume, which can be seen above.

I love it and I love how silly and fun Reynolds is at revealing the image and I love that Fox is (hopefully) embracing the oddball character and his unusual way of going about things.

Official plot description below:

Based upon Marvel Comics’ most unconventional anti-hero, DEADPOOL tells the origin story of former Special Forces operative turned mercenary Wade Wilson, who after being subjected to a rogue experiment that leaves him with accelerated healing powers, adopts the alter ego Deadpool. Armed with his new abilities and a dark, twisted sense of humor, Deadpool hunts down the man who nearly destroyed his life.

]]>0Jeremy Lebenshttp://twitter.com/#!/MinimeJer05http://www.thedailyrotation.com/?p=291342015-03-27T21:29:06Z2015-03-27T21:27:08ZJeremy reviews the latest indie horror film It Follows, which expands nationwide this weekend

David Robert Mitchell‘s It Follows is a unique horror film unlike anything before it. It Follows isn’t traditional by any means, scaring its audiences not with the usual blood, gore and jump scares, but instead with its lingering sensation that you can’t quite shake after watching it. It Follows is tense, different and exactly the kind of horror flick to go against the grain in a cinematic landscape full of ghost stories and haunting films.

Jay (Maika Monroe) is your typical girl. One night she goes on a date with a boy that she’s slowly starting to like and one thing leads to another and they end up having sex. It’s an innocent act that she didn’t exactly put a whole bunch of thought into, but shortly after the man reveals to her that he has passed on a curse. The curse is simple and results in “something” following around Jay for the rest of her life, until she has sex with someone else and passes on said curse. If she lets this “thing” get close to her and touch her; it will kill her and then move back onto the last person that had the curse.

She doesn’t know how it started or why it’s happening, but she does know that something is following her and will not stop until she is dead. This thing can take the form of anyone, from a random stranger to a known friend or family member and only the cursed can see it, slowly walking towards them.

I know I know, It Follows sounds rather strange and odd for a horror flick, but I’m here to tell you that it works and it works magnificently. David Robert Mitchell‘s film is spooky and nail-biting without ever really shedding much blood or acts of violence.

It Follows gets by on its tense mood and unique atmosphere, which starts with its slow and steady camera pacing, then moves onto its retro-styled score, finally settling with its slow burn approach to its characters, their stories and the film’s overall message. Everything about It Follows is suspenseful and uncomfortable and that’s precisely why it works so well as a horror flick.

Caution must be given to that word though, because this is far from your conventional horror film, especially in a world where exorcism and possession films are over-saturating the market with their jump scares and cheap thrills. Sure, those flicks aren’t always that bad, but they’re very formulaic and have slowly started to become the genre norm, especially if shot with a found footage approach.

It Follows counteracts that in a big way. The camera is almost always distant and steady, allowing for the entire scene’s atmosphere to be consumed and digested slowly and with enough thought for the viewer to truly take it all in. Then, the music and locations help make the film feel different in a very natural way, which helps make way for the core characters, which aren’t exactly the most talkative, yet still feel like variations of your typical horror crew.

Leading lady Maika Monroe gives Jay a refreshing feel. She’s not exactly an ass kicker or a tough bad ass, but instead just a lovely girl lost in a nightmare that she just can’t seem to wake up from. She was hesitant about sleeping with the boy in the first place and then instantly regrets it after the fact, which is a sad realization that she comes across. Jay’s quiet-going nature helps the audience get behind her and relate to her unfortunate situation in a way that feels organic.

The way director David Robert Mitchell treats and reveals “it” is the scariest aspect of the entire film. It shows up out of nowhere and can be almost always seen lingering in the background. Sometimes, it may appear as an unsure figure, while sometimes it’s obvious and directly in the middle of the frame. And that works wonderfully well for the film, giving a constant sense of paranoia, while also making you sit back in your seat and slowly start to map out the exits and the people that seem to be inching closer and closer towards you for no reason.

It’s a remarkably scary feeling that the film gives off with strong vibes and clever structuring. That’s what makes It Follows a unique film that really works, but not exactly your traditional horror film that will instantly scare you in the blood/gore/violence sense. It Follows is terrifying, but that mileage may very drastically depending on what type of movie-goer you are and depending on what kind of film you’re looking for.

Those looking for something a little different and a little more psychological will enjoy It Follows for how uneasy it makes them feel and for how it always waits to scare you subtly around every single corner. Those looking for big jumps and obvious scares won’t find much to like in this intense little indie flick.

It Follows is a great film to go into blindly, so I’d suggest not reading too much about it and just checking it out as soon as you can and then come back here and let’s discuss the film’s underlying (and slightly disturbing message) in the comments down below.

Like usual, Samsung is looking to reinvigorate the smart phone world with the release of two new phones: the Samsung Galaxy S6 and the Galaxy S6 Edge. Both phones are sporting massive specs, with HD Super AMOLED displays, quick charging, wireless charging and not to mention the beautiful curved display.

The front camera sports a 5MP shooter, while the rear comes with an impressive 16MP for taking just about any photo that you desire.

All of this, paired with a powerful processor makes both models very desirable for those looking to upgrade their smart phones on pretty much any carrier around.

Will you be picking up one of the phones?

Check out this promotional video below:

From its stunning bold, beautiful display to its wireless charging capabilities, the Galaxy S6 and S6 edge are the most advanced smartphones on the market. To learn more, visit http://smsng.us/SixAppeal

]]>0Brett Kosterhttp://www.thedailyrotation.com/?p=291312015-03-27T15:21:14Z2015-03-27T01:38:42ZIn the end, it doesn’t matter that the story sucks, Get Hard falls into the “Dumb Comedy” genre and the journey is more important than the sum of its parts

There isn’t much explanation needed for what the movie Get Hard is about. Get Hard is a Will Ferrell comedy about a massively successful stock broker, James King (Will Ferrell), who has been convicted of tax evasion and has been sentenced to serve a 10-year sentence in San Quentin Maximum Security Prison. He is notably nervous about the experience and he wants to prepare for it, so he turns to the owner of a car wash facility, Darnell Lewis (Kevin Hart), to help. Darnell is by no means a criminal, but will play the part so that he can send his daughter to private school. From there, the movie is exactly what you would expect out of a Will Ferrell comedy. The characters find themselves in ridiculous situations, there will be slight character development, and there will a few insanely quotable lines spewing from the mouth of Will Ferrell.

All in all, this is not the best Will Ferrell movie and that is mostly because Kevin Hart steals the show. Will Ferrell’s character is a pretty bland one, he has quite a few ridiculous quotes and is the driver of the movie, but the quotes will fade from memory over time and you are left with a pretty forgettable character. Before the movie I wasn’t a huge Kevin Hart fan, and I am still not so much, but his over-the-top facial expressions actually worked out well for his character. Kevin Hart’s character also seems to have the most interesting story and character, whereas pretty much every other character is bland.

The story is also quite flat. Even for a Will Ferrell comedy, this story is predictable and uninteresting (and I really like Will Ferrell comedies). Even though the villain is supposed to be a secret, from the first moment he arrives on screen you know who he is, what he will do, and that he won’t get away with it. It doesn’t matter what odds our hero finds himself in, in this comedy, the villain will lose. I think what helps the story line is the fact that there is little to no focus on it, the focus throughout the movies is on James King’s preparation to go to prison, which is what brought you into the theater in the first place. That preparation makes up about 90% of the movie and it is appalling and fun to watch.

So in the end, it doesn’t even matter that the story sucks. This movie falls in my “Dumb Comedy” genre and in that category, the journey is more important than the sum of its parts. Even though you will not be a better person for watching this movie, who cares, you will have a moderate amount of fun throughout it. Personally, I would wait to watch Get Hard until it comes to Netflix late this summer (that’s a guess by the way). But hey, if you need a break from life and just want to watch a ridiculous movie, Get Hard is a fine choice.

Etan Cohen‘s Get Hard is a more-than-capable R-rated comedy that showcases the talent of its two stars, Will Ferrell and Kevin Hart. Oddly enough, Hart outshines Ferrell by a long shot in this mostly silly and over-the-top, but still harmless film about a rich white man taking advice from the only black guy that he knows on how to survive in prison. Get Hard comes with your traditional Will Ferrell-style comedy, mixed with a more subtle, yet more effective Kevin Hart that completely owns the film and its R-rated shenanigans.

James (Will Ferrell) is a blue collar man. He’s super wealthy and a complete idiot and quickly finds himself facing a lengthy prison sentence for something that he claims to have not done. Darnell (Kevin Hart) is a struggling businessman trying to afford a new house so that he can put his daughter in a good school and keep his family safe and out of the more rough neighborhoods.

The two cross paths as James has a mental breakdown after his prison sentence and realizes that his only black “friend” Darnell has probably gone to prison at some point in his life, because James’ narrow mind is full of racial wrongs and stereotypes.

But the two quickly realize that they both aren’t exactly who they seem to be, with James slowly revealing his kind heart and generally good nature, which surrounds his complete stupidity, while Darnell reveals that he’s not just some gang-banger, but instead a caring father and loving husband just trying to make ends meet.

Yeah, Etan Cohen‘s Get Hard isn’t exactly the most thought-provoking comedy or even a clever one by any stretch, but it knows that right from the start and never tries to embrace being anything other than silly and light-hearted, while also full of some R-rated raunchy comedy, which is always a good thing coming from the sometimes safe Will Ferrell and mostly PG-13 Kevin Hart.

Together, the pair of comedians make Get Hard something much better than it rightfully deserves to be, thanks to Ferrell’s constantly odd and obnoxious dialogue and Kevin Hart‘s ability to give the film so much energy and charisma. Seriously, I never knew Hart could be so entertaining without being his usual loud and in-your-face self. Here, Hart plays the calmer of the two funny men and he does so with a certain set of skills that almost always make him more memorable than Ferrell.

Hart channels a version of himself that’s still usual funny self, but funny in a different manner than one might expect from Hart. He does this, while Ferrell does his usual act, which in his defense works just fine for this sort of film, while also sort of highlighting Hart’s talent. Ferrell may be the top bill of the cast, but Hart easily steals this film right from under him and he does it in a way that will have you paying a closer eye on the screen the next time there’s an R-rated Kevin Hart movie announced.

Cohen’s direction can best be described as simple and maintained, with the film packing very few surprises, yet enough laughs to keep you awake and alive and ready for the next extensive gag. Having stars like Ferrell and Hart definitely make Cohen’s job easier and it shows, because the film doesn’t exactly scream smart or clever from a writing or directing standpoint. Cohen’s main focus is laughs and easy ones at that and he achieves that goal without much struggle.

The film’s predictable and very cut and dry, but that doesn’t make it a chore to sit through. There is a small stretch in the second half that makes things slow down a bit more than they should, but Ferrell and Hart do their best to speed things up and make it across the finish line without too much of a problem.

I’d definitely consider this one of Will Ferrell‘s weaker entries in the filmography, but that’s not me calling it a bad film, but a very average one.

Kevin Hart truly shines and for that reason alone I’d suggest checking it out at some point, because the man is slowly becoming an R-rated comedian worth watching and keeping an eye on. His PG-13 material was never all that great, but his R-rated material is quickly turning into instant gold and a guarantee of at least a couple hard belly laughs.

Get Hard isn’t as edgy or hilarious as some might hope, but it gets the job done based on its performances alone. Ferrell and Hart work great together and help create a mostly balanced comedy, no thanks to director Etan Cohen‘s mostly tame and simplistic approach. It works and occasionally it works well, but don’t expect much of anything else.

]]>The MP3 player (or iPod as most know it) is dead and has been replaced by Smartphones, but our desire to listen to music couldn’t be stronger. The problem that the MP3 player solved was the problem of storing every song you own in a small device that you can carry with you. Eventually the storage capability of those MP3 players surpassed the storage size of the user’s library, solving the initial problem. But a new problem arose. That problem is: of the content I own, what is actually good? Therein lies the problem that currently faces most users in my opinion. There are multiple ways to solve that problem and this App of the Week will give you one really good method to solve it. The app of this week is Spotify.

In my opinion there are two ways to find good music, your friends (or curators or software) can tell you what to check out or you can go out and find the music yourself. Spotify does both of those very well. Spotify is a service that provides you with massive amounts of access to nearly endless amounts of music. It is very likely that your favorite artist has their content available to stream. Furthermore, you are encouraged to view playlists created by other users and share your playlists with your friends. You can use Spotify without paying anything also but you would then be limited on what you can do with mobile and you are subjected to advertisements. Some may choose to pay, some may not, there are pros and cons of each, but at least you have the choice unlike a few other streaming services.

I make this recommendation now because this is the service I currently use, however I am very excited to see how Spotify and competing services evolve over time. Furthermore, while I can find new music relatively easily on Spotify, I still desire more. Spotify is currently great for going out and finding music on your own, but with the next evolution I hope that my app/service of choice can make smarter recommendations for new music to try. What Beats Music does with their “The Sentence” feature is super unique and a great way to find music, but their catalog is lacking compared to Spotify. All in all, music streaming services are evolving quickly and I am excited to see where we go and currently, Spotify has the lead, so we recommend to try them out!

]]>0Jeremy Lebenshttp://twitter.com/#!/MinimeJer05http://www.thedailyrotation.com/?p=291182015-03-23T17:19:43Z2015-03-23T17:19:43ZTom Cruise and company returns in yet another Mission: Impossible outing, this time titled Rogue Nation and directed by Christopher McQuarrie